


Of Rashvine and Embrium

by Enceladus (EspressoComfort)



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Dragons, Elven Glory, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Medical use of elfroot, Mild Gore, No Spoilers, Oral Sex, mid-relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2020-10-04 03:43:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20464451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EspressoComfort/pseuds/Enceladus
Summary: “It’s quiet here. I like it,” he mumbled in her direction with the shadow of a smile twinkling in his eyes as they slowly walked through the pass. She nodded, reluctant to break the silence.Ellana Lavellan and Solas find themselves alone in Ghilan'nain's Grove on a scouting mission after setting up the Fens Camp. The threat of a high dragon forces them to find shelter, stay quiet, and face their feelings. Smut ensues.Set in the Exalted Plains, loosely after the events of Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts, and All New, Faded for Her, mid-relationship. Mostly canon compliant. No late game/DLC spoilers (but some foreshadowing). Physical description of Lavellan kept to a minimum.





	Of Rashvine and Embrium

**Author's Note:**

> “It’s quiet here. I like it,” he mumbled in her direction with the shadow of a smile twinkling in his eyes as they slowly walked through the pass. She nodded, reluctant to break the silence.

In ancient times, a river may have run here, Ellana Lavellan noted, taking in their surroundings. Bare white trees were slowly moving in the wind that howled through the pass above them, branches stretched towards the milky, overcast afternoon sky. Strong roots had cracked the ancient mountain, moss had taken hold on the rocks. The dry earth and yesteryear’s leaves crackled under her leather boots.

She cast a glance back toward the Fens Camp where Sera and Cassandra were tending to their burns from the morning’s spout with the gurguts over Ghilan'nain's Grove. They had emerged victorious, though Ellana still felt a sting of guilt over the angry red marks on Sera’s back, courtesy of one of the ugly wyverns. Since Ellana still hadn’t quite gotten the hold of her new rift magic abilities she had drained her mana on accidentally exploding one of the rock offerings, sending skull-lidded urns, splinters of painted rock and crumbling carcasses flying through the air, instead of recasting the barrier around the rogue. She could still feel some of the dust at the back of her lungs. At least she had not disintegrated the magnificent Halla statue that guarded the camp, she reminded herself.

By the time she sensed the movement ahead of them, Solas was already holding up a hand, and cast her a glance. Another gurgut. Not for the first time she wished she wasn’t wearing the shem boots with their hard heels, as she slowly and quietly followed him.

They had left the others after setting up camp to scout the area for Rifts. Cassandra had been reluctant to let them leave, but Sera had whispered something in her ear that Ellana did not want to speculate about outside the safety of her bedroom. The embarrassed Seeker had agreed to let them leave but avoided Ellana’s eyes. She could feel how even the memory of Sera’s remark back at Skyhold brought a heat to the tips of her ears. _Elven glory- _ she drew in a shaking breath, a little louder than she had hoped, and her eyes went to the back of his head. He wasn’t wearing the cowl today. She appreciated the vulnerability of his exposed neck, the tips of his alert ears, the curve of the back of his bald head. She let the breath out as a soft sigh, lost in the wind. _Focus._

Determined to keep her eyes where they belonged she turned her gaze to the creature. The gurgut moved slowly but with determination, headed west. Had they been all four, they would surely have been able to take it down with ease, but as it was they settled to keep their distance as they continued further away from the ancient ruins and the safety of the camp.

As they passed under the darkness of an arc of overhanging rocks she spotted another Halla statue against the sky. The gurgut let out a screech and skittered away. She let out a sigh of relief, blinkingly stepping into the bright light of the clearing.

Here the signs of spring were starting to show, small shoots of bright leaves lining the trees. The wind was not as strong against her face as inside the pass and grove. However, she realized with a grimace, her feet were wet, standing in a few inches of water.  
The Halla statue had a counterpart, she noticed. The magnificent stone creatures, greened by age and algae, were standing off in an eternal staring contest, guarding the entrance to the grove. Urns lay strewn around the bases here too. She spotted a familiar flower growing on the bank next to one of the trees.

“Embrium, even here,'' she smiled, and bent down to breathe in the scent. Her lungs felt fuller, she breathed easy again despite the dust. Her hand hesitated to pluck the orange flower.

He bent down next to her, and slowly took her outstretched hand into his. Her breath hitched at the back of her throat as their eyes met across the glowing flower.

“I see that you have been picking rashvine, vhen’an.”

She chuckled dismissively as she noticed the small blisters at the base of her hand. Before she could object he reached for a bag on his belt, tucking out two leaves of elfroot. _Feladara. _

“You do know these fester without proper care,” he mumbled, and broke the leaves with his teeth, bringing forth their healing juice. Her eyes lingered on his lower lip.

“Well, we wouldn’t want to have to amputate my hand,'' she retorted as he smoothed the leaves over the angry red blisters.

“Not when… it can be avoided,'' he whispered, replacing his fingers with his lips on her hand in the softest of kisses. His blue eyes carried a sadness as they met hers.

At that moment, the anchor flared ominously. Her eyes scanned the surroundings.

“Another rift. Let me mark the map for later,” she says and quickly withdrew her hand, swallowing the lump at the back of her throat.

“Should we turn back,” she asked him quietly, readying herself to get up.

He did not reply, but instead lifted a finger to his lips, and nodded at something behind her. The gurgut was passing closely by, now headed the way they came. _No turning back. _  
She nodded, and they moved quietly through the water, keeping west. She could feel the ghost of his lips on her hand, or perhaps it was simply the elfroot taking hold.

She fisted her hand to fight back the nausea at the smell as they passed by some still burning carcasses, a rising sense of dread in her bones. She glanced at the map again, and noted the words ‘broken dog’ scribbled in Scout Harding’s neat runes next to them. _There. _  
She could feel his eyes at her back as she walked up to the broken statue. Her eyes narrowed. It did not look like a dog, or at least not like any dog she knew. It was not a Ferelden mabari for its snout was too narrow. It was not a fennec for its ears were too small.  
It looked, in fact, most like- She squatted down next to it in the water, her robes now wet up to the knees. A blue dragonfly lifted off the stone snout as she gently stroked the smooth stone.  


“Thoughts,” he asked her softly, keeping his eyes on the surroundings, scanning for dangers. She hesitated.

“It is of different design than the statues of Halla, and the… Dread Wolf guarding the entrance to the pass. These spiral patterns, they remind me of something, but I can’t quite…”

“Is that so,” he answered loftily, distracted by another gurgut passing by.

“There is not much dread to this wolf, though,” she said with a small smile and stood up, suddenly standing so very close to him.

“Is that so”, he repeated. He slowly lifted his hands to cup her face, a dangerous glint replacing the hesitation in his stormy eyes.  
His kiss surprised her with heat. She sighed into his mouth as his lips forced hers open. Her hands gripped the coat of his armor to bring him even closer. His hands moved to the back of her head, fingers tangling in her hair-  


A large shadow passed over them, accompanied by an ear-drenching screech that resonated from the cliffs and rippled the water around them. Ellana’s eyes widened as she instinctively crouched, dragging Solas down with her. Her heart skipped a beat as the dragon threw its head back, preparing to shower them in fire. Her veins felt like ice, she was unable to move-  


It took her a few more heartbeats to understand what was happening when suddenly her feet lifted off the ground. She watched as the bolt of lightning struck the water where they crouched but seconds earlier. The dragon snarled, flapping its wings to circle around the area. She regained control of her limbs as Solas set her down, urging her to climb up the rocks toward a small alcove. Tugging on him to get up after her she peeked around the corner. They were hidden, if barely. She leaned back against the rock, letting out a ragged chuckle.  
He dragged a hand over his bald head, a small smile dancing at the corners of his lips.

“You may want to reassess your stance on the killing of dragons,” he whispered.

She gave him one of her looks, and sighed. It was he who had taught her to respect the creatures.  
She peeked around the corner again only to see that the stormrider had landed and lazily stretched out to bathe in the sunlight of the clearing but five fathoms from their hiding place.

“Be that as it may,” she replied tensely, “we may be stuck here for a while.”

“Surely they will send out a search party if you don’t return soon.”

“I… wouldn’t be so sure,” she replied, recalling the whispered exchange between Sera and Cassandra.

Solas nodded and she turned her attention to her water-soiled boots, unlaced them and set them aside. Her toes were numb from the cold water they had been walking through. Slowly she massaged her feet to get the blood back running, her mind racing.  


They had not been alone since- Since Halamshiral, and even there, well. Stolen moments, hasty kisses in the shadows, yet somehow the rumour of the Inquisitor and the elven apostate had taken over all of Skyhold. It was of course true — yet even though she would not admit it, she wished the truth would not pale in comparison to the rumours. The Inquisition needed her focused; it would be selfish to lose herself in her feelings for this man.  
She let go of her feet and hugged her knees.

“You are cold,” he whispered.

She shrugged, and kept her eyes down.  
In one smooth movement he took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders, moving closer as he did so. He left his hands at the sides of her arms. She looked up at him, meeting his gaze. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears. _Now was the time to ask him._  
Instead, however, she let her gaze flicker to his mouth, and without thinking, she parted her lips, letting a small sigh escape her.

That was the sign he seemed to have been waiting for. He brought her lips to his and lifted her onto his lap in one fluid movement. She tilted her head back to allow him better access, eagerly answering his kiss. Their tongues met, and she leaned into him as their kiss grew deeper, more urgent. The hand that was holding the small of her back gripped her harder, as his other hand slowly traced a line from behind her ear down her side, then up again to cup her breast over the leather of her armor.

She let go of his head long enough to shrug herself out of the double armor coats, longing for those pale, long fingers of his to touch her skin instead. Her hands gripped his head again, meeting his lips with a hunger he returned with an urgent, throaty moan. His hands moved over her, desperate to cover all of her, as his lips and tongue continued to send shivers down her spine toward her center.

Feeling bold, she inched herself closer to him, straddling him completely, without breaking the kiss. She could feel his hot arousal against hers through their breeches. Tentatively, she gave a small sway of her hips that sent waves of pleasure through her. His breath hitched against her lips. She pulled back to look him in the eyes, hands on his chest, catching her breath.

“Do you-,“ she asked quietly, searching his eyes.

“Yes,” he interrupted her hoarsely.

She held his gaze for a moment more, as the sweet fire rushing through her veins turned her lips up in a shy smile.

He slowly lifted the hem of her tunic. She lifted her arms to let him drag the piece of clothing off her. Almost reverently he leaned forward, kissing the exposed skin below her breast band. She could feel the goosebumps forming as she closed her eyes and let a soft moan escape her, leaning into the sensation. Painfully slowly he loosened the band around her back, letting it fall down, and softly enveloped her nipple with his lips. This moan was louder.

She interrupted his eager and welcome exploration of her skin long enough to free him from both the tunic and undershirt. She traced her fingers over his heaving chest, taking in the lean yet strong features. Their gazes met, and she could see her desire reflected in those deep blue eyes.  
Lifting herself up enough to wrap her arms around his neck, she revelled in the sensation of his skin against hers.

His hands took the opportunity to grip her ass as they kissed; now slowly, drawing it out, deepening the sensation with each meeting of tongues, each breath. His right hand moved around the hem of her breeches, finding the fastenings on the side. She closed her eyes as he swiftly undid the laces, deliciously tracing a finger around her hips. She bit his lower lip in return.

Without warning, he grabbed her around the waist and moved her to lie on her back on the discarded armor. Leaning onto his arm, he hovered over her. She smiled coyly at him, and slowly nodded for him to continue as she dragged him towards her, capturing his lips in a soft kiss. She could see how his eyes narrowed as his other hand traced over her bare body, before she closed her eyes in pleasure as the hand found its goal. Her mind protested as his hand withdrew, only to fill her with anticipation as he brought her breeches down to her knees.  


“Do you-,“ he started, a teasing tone to his whispered question.

“Yes,” she in turn interrupted, _“isalan na,”_ she breathed, kissing him again. 

He hummed in reply against her lips before withdrawing, moving his hand over her body agonizingly slowly toward her aching sex. She leaned back, mind enraptured by the sensation of his fingers gliding over her, finding her wet and waiting. He started slow, searching, but as her breaths came in quicker he picked up his pace.

She had not noticed him moving, but when his other hand joined she let out a content moan at the sensation. She complied eagerly when he pressed on her legs to open wider, but still let out a surprised gasp when he touched his lips to her inner thigh, slowly kissing his way up openmouthedly. He gave her a mischievous grin as their eyes briefly met before shamelessly dragging his tongue flat against her folds. Dragon or not, this time she could not contain her cry of pleasure which seemed to only egg him on. His fingers teased at her entrance, slowly pushing inside her, as his tongue swept in circles around her clit. She could feel a throbbing starting to build up inside of her as his finger pumped in and out of her in time with her ragged breathing. She was fairly certain half of the Plains could hear her by now, but she could not care as her consciousness drew smaller and smaller around the pinpoint that was the pleasure building up inside her. When Solas took her clit between his lips and gently sucked Ellana could no longer fight it. Her orgasm shattered through her like lightning, clenching around his finger.

Her fingers and eartips were tingling as she let out a soft laugh, still unable to get up. He kissed her sex once more, then raised himself up on his elbows to meet her eyes.

“I imagine the dragon is gone by now,” he whispered with a tender smile on his lips.

She laughed and took the tunic he handed her, making sure it was hers before putting it on. She wasn’t quite ready yet to face the look in Cassandra’s or Sera’s eyes if she returned to the camp in his tunic, but she did not mind if they noticed she no longer was wearing her breast band.

**Author's Note:**

> Elvhen translations:
> 
> Vhen'an = My heart  
Feladara = Elfroot  
Isalan na = I need you
> 
> Thank you for reading! This is my first fic and fan art in this fandom, I hope I did it justice even though I'm very late to the party!


End file.
